


Robot Masters of Monstropolis

by Helenadorf



Series: Captain N: Remastered, Season 1 [4]
Category: Captain N: The Game Master, Metroid Series, Rockman | Mega Man Classic, 光神話 | Kid Icarus (Video Games), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Captain N Rewrite, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21791602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helenadorf/pseuds/Helenadorf
Summary: You can't fight the enemy if you can't find the enemy. With this in mind, Samus knows to track down the bad guys via the one bad guy who tends to announce himself wherever he goes; and for that, Mega Man suggests they visit his creator, Dr. Light. Of course, Dr. Wily isn't willing to get himself caught so easily, and has his Robot Masters right out there waiting for them.
Series: Captain N: Remastered, Season 1 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1480931
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is three months late I am so sorry
> 
> But! I'm not giving up writing this thing. I'm gonna keep at it, and hopefully episode 5 won't take a goddamn eternity!

*

“Stupid altar! _Move_!”

Quick Man snarled and kicked it again and again, spitting words between every strike. “Why! Won’t! You! _Turn over_!”

Flash Man sighed. It was the middle of the night, they’d already wasted twenty minutes on this, and it was obvious there was something that prevented just _anyone_ from manipulating the Palace’s manual security systems. Quick Man was never a paragon of patience and discipline, and neither was Dr. Wily, but even _they_ had to figure out at some point that they were better off just going back to base and brainstorming through the problem.

More importantly, they had a mission in the morning and Flash Man wanted to get some sleep in. He wasn’t eager to be taking orders from Medusa by _any_ means— she and Mother Brain both gave him red warning signs flashing up in his HUD. It was something about their _attitude_ — the way Medusa seemed to tuck a feral and sinister truth beneath her graceful behaviour, and the way Mother Brain always seemed to expect everything. They were a terrible duo. And he was on _their_ side!

Still, he’d take it. It was something to do, better-plotted than anything Dr. Wily could come up with. Dr. Wily’s comparative incompetence was being proven right now, in fact, by the night raid foiled before it even got started.

Finally, Quick Man’s stubbornness seemed to wear off and he stepped away from the altar. “Maybe I should get Crash to blow this thing up,” he grumbled.

“You realize, that would blow up the switch as well, and the dungeon would _stay_ locked from this end.”

No surprise that, by the look on his face, it hadn’t occurred to Quick Man at all. Flash Man counted backwards from ten and sent Dr. Wily a simple report: _Can we go back now?_

“I don’t _get_ the ladies’ plans,” Quick Man complained. “What are they doing? We could’ve had the Palace already if they didn’t waste so much on _intel_! What could they _possibly_ get from that which wouldn’t have been solved by throwing everything at once at the Palace?”

“Both you _and_ Dr. Wily could use the lesson in patience,” Flash Man commented.

He could feel his brother’s glare. “What, you actually think they’re onto something? Please, tell the class.”

“You realize, if we don’t know what the Palace is capable of, we could all get crushed by something we didn’t see coming.” Flash Man closed communications and waited for pick-up. “If we know the limits and capabilities of the Palace before we properly storm it, we can figure out exactly what its weak points are and how to bypass them.”

Quick Man spat. “This is such a waste of our talents.”

Flash Man gave him a look. “Personally, I’m happy to be _functional_ again. We can worry about the rest later.”

* * *

Kevin didn’t know what his first (proper, actually-intended-to-wake-up-here) morning in the Palace of Power was going to be like, but he didn’t expect to be woken up at 5AM by a very energetic vampire hunter doing the classic “spoons against the pots” routine.

“Rise and shine, heroes of the Palace!” Simon called throughout the halls, keeping a steady rhythm of CLANG, CLANG, CLANG echoing. “The dawn is young, and it is time to begin training! Rise and seize the day! The sun is waiting to greet you!”

Duke lifted his head and let out a frustrated whine at the noise. Kevin groaned and covered his head with his pillow, muttering, “You said it, boy…”

He didn’t actually get out of bed for several minutes after Simon passed by his room. When Kevin did finally drag himself out of bed to peek out the door, hair a mess and stomach growling, he dared to follow where Simon had gone off to— and as he shuffled along, Lana’s door opened to reveal her looking just as disheveled as Kevin was.

It was kind of funny, actually. Lana hadn’t even changed out of her day clothes to sleep, Kevin could tell by the wrinkles on her shirt. Kevin maybe had an excuse, in that he’d only just moved in without warning and without packing, but what about her? Hadn’t she lived here for ages?

She blushed when she realized how bad she looked, and stammered, “Good morning. I… I kinda totally forgot I had other people in the Palace.”

Kevin laughed. “It’s okay; it’s just a shame that Simon _didn’t_.”

They caught up to Simon and saw that Pit was with him, in the main stairwell of the Palace. Simon was already doing stretches. Pit was sitting on one of the windowsills, swinging his legs, chatting with him while they’d been waiting. Simon, the first to notice the two of them, turned and smiled.

“Well, the both of you look… perhaps less than well-rested?” Pit snickered at that, and Simon waved it off as he continued. “No matter. I’m glad the both of you are awake. Samus Aran suggested that she and I alternate between my training and hers, and allowed me to have— how did she put it? _First dibs_.”

“This early in the morning, though?” Lana asked, yawning.

“What better time?”

Simon paused for a moment and offered them reassurance. “Don’t worry, I’ll be lenient on the both of you. You’re inexperienced, and what happened yesterday was both new and difficult. I’ll do my best to respect your limitations.”

Kevin and Lana had exactly two seconds to feel comforted before Simon continued, “Now, take the stairs from the top to the bottom of the Palace twenty times both ways. Then I’ll have you do three sets of 100 pull-ups, rinse, repeat. Go!”

* * *

Kevin crashed on his fifth trip up the stairs, and Lana only managed nine rounds before she collapsed in front of Simon. The pull-ups went exactly no better, and according to Simon, that had just been the _warm-up_. The real training had been in repetitions of swordplay, hand-to-hand, and at that point Kevin had lost all feeling in his limbs and needed Pit to drag him to the side while Lana, bless her soul, soldiered on with sweat drenching her back.

He wouldn’t have called it _total_ torture— Simon _had_ taught him how to properly hold a sword for maximum control over the blade (“Place your forefinger and thumb on the blade itself, atop the hilt. Like that— that will serve you much better. Let the blade be an extension of your arm.”), and Kevin felt a lot better knowing at least some basic self-defense in the case that he didn’t have his Zapper or sword on him (“Thumb on the outside of your fist, Kevin, and when you aim high, aim for the throat.”). Simon was a good teacher, even if his definition of _lenient_ could use some work.

Pit didn’t do much besides watch and take care of Duke, apparently having already done his own training with Simon even earlier that morning. Mega Man, Kevin guessed, managed to get out because a robot wouldn’t really benefit from exercise the way a human did. Samus… whatever her excuse was, he was actually glad she didn’t show. It would have been comically embarrassing if he and Lana had been stumbling and gasping for breath while Samus got through it all at World Record speeds.

“If it makes you feel better,” Pit said, “You obviously work pretty well under pressure! So in a real fight you’ll probably surprise yourself. Don’t let Simon’s training get to you!”

Kevin wasn’t sure how comforting that actually was, but Pit’s sincerity helped. “Thanks, Pit.”

“I’m speaking from experience, here.” Pit winked. “Trust me, you’ll learn fast to keep up with the rest of us. I mean, we were all beginners at one point!”

That helped a lot more.

Amazingly, training had all fit into about two hours before Simon finally had the mercy to call it for the morning. (And _only_ for the morning, Kevin noticed.) Just as well, because Lana had finally fallen flat on her face with no intention of getting up.

“The both of you did well,” Simon said cheerfully, and somehow Kevin doubted that. “Remember, this is only the beginning. Before long, between myself and Ms. Aran, you’ll be begging us for more of a challenge; and _that_ will be when the real work begins. Come along! I imagine the both of you must be starved.”

“I’m busy being dead,” Lana muffled.

Kevin, who’d at least caught his breath by now, managed a chuckle. “Well, you lasted longer than I did, Lana.”

Simon laughed outright. “Don’t be silly, you two. You’ll feel better once you’ve eaten.”

Kevin miraculously managed to rise to his feet without instantly collapsing, but Lana needed some help pulling herself back up to her feet. She mumbled something about the Palace needing some internal teleporters as she leaned on Kevin’s shoulder on the way to the dining room.

They found that Samus Aran was already sitting at the dining table, sitting improperly slouched across her seat horizontally with her legs kicked up on the chair next to hers. She had a finished plate of food set on the table next to her, and the glorious smell of breakfast wafted from the kitchen. It was enough to, on its own, restore Lana’s ability to move and reenergize her and Kevin, to boot.

In the kitchen, Mega Man was busy finishing up cooking the last pancake, with the measuring cups, measuring spoons and mixing tools already washed and set in the drying rack. And he’d made a _lot_ of food. Bacon, eggs, toast in baskets, set out drinks, any toppings and extra works they wanted… There was even a bowl of kibble set out for Duke, which he was already eagerly attacking.

“Oh, wow!” Pit exclaimed. “You made all this??”

Mega Man turned to him and smiled. “I mean, yeah? Go ahead and grab what you want to eat, guys! I’m sure you’re all hungry!”

No one needed to be told twice. Once everyone else had taken their plates (Pit, of them, grabbing a carefully-balanced _mountain_ atop his plate, with Simon at a very far second), Samus had gone to get seconds. Mega Man joined in time for conversation to start.

“So! What’s the plan for today?” Pit chirped, much as he could with a mouth already full of food.

“I think first we ought to track down our enemy’s location,” Simon suggested. _He_ was at the very least polite enough to have waited to finish his first bite before speaking. “We need to mount a counterattack, but we cannot do that if we haven’t a clue where they’re hiding.”

Which sounded like a solid idea. Kevin piped in with his guesses: “Well, since we know who our villains _are_ , there are three possibilities: 1) Dr. Wily’s Skull Fortress, 2) The Underworld, and 3) Planet Zebes. Right?”

“Well, you can cross the Underworld off that list; Lady Palutena has already told me that it’s been weirdly quiet and empty down there,” Pit said. “Save for all the dead people, I guess.”

Samus stroked her chin. “We can pay Zebes a visit, though it’s far too soon for them to have just… _rebuilt_. Their entire base went up in smithereens last time I was there.”

“Which leaves Dr. Wily building a new fortress, and he can get that done _fast_ with all the robots he reprogrammed.” Mega Man paused. “But even then, Dr. Light and I can’t be sure where that’s going to be. He builds somewhere new every time; last time it was within the country, but the time after that, it was a lot farther away. He could be literally anywhere in my world.”

“But your creator was able to track him down,” Samus noted. “Both times?”

“Yeah.”

“Easy solution: just get him to do it again. Which means we might have to stop by.”

It was at that that Lana looked up from her plate of French toast and bacon, and held up a finger to express her desire to respond while she was finishing a mouthful. “Hold on,” she said, having barely swallowed, “We can’t leave the Palace undefended.”

“Sure we can. Just have the Palace redirect energy from anywhere it can spare to the shields.” Samus paused. “Like those portals outside.”

Kevin blinked. “Portals?”

“The Warp Zones,” Lana explained. “Those are the passageways between the Palace and everywhere else, though you can also go from one world to another— as long as the Palace maintains energy to those Warps. I call this place the Hubworld for a reason.” She paused. “Mainframe can close them selectively, I suppose— but since we aren’t really clear where the bad guys are coming from, and you guys still need to be able to come back after…” 

“We’ll take a scenic route out, and Mainframe can leave the most direct path open for us. I’m guessing the only reason Mainframe didn’t shut them down yesterday was ‘cause it was waiting for us?”

Lana nodded. Kevin guessed it was hoping that it wouldn’t just be the four that had arrived; but no newcomers had shown up once they had chased off the bad guys. Samus seemed satisfied with the solution, but Lana still had her brows furrowed and was fiddling absently with her fork.

“If you’re really not sure,” Samus offered, “We can leave a few people behind on guard duty. It’s a quick drop-in and a favour, hardly necessary to have six people. Any volunteers?”

Duke barked. The gesture made Samus smirk a little and say, “Thanks, boy, but I dunno how much good a dog alone can do against the bad guys. Anyone else?”

“I may as well hang back since I’m the one that’s so worried about this,” Lana suggested.

“But,” Kevin countered, “You said you wanted to see the worlds outside the Palace?”

Lana offered him a weak smile that neither reached her eyes nor lasted very long. As her gaze lowered into her lap, Samus defended her decision. “Don’t think she’s quite ready for that, kid. It’s not easy for anyone to let go of the place they called home.”

Those words did very well at shutting Kevin up.

“Well, I won’t let her be alone,” Pit spoke up. “I’ll stay with her and the Palace! And Duke.” The dog bounded up to Pit and hopped his front paws onto his lap, and Pit grinned and pet him while handing off some of his leftovers to him.

“Then it’s settled.” Samus stood up, gathering her plate. “I’ll give everyone else fifteen minutes to get themselves ready, then we’re off to Mega Man’s world to pay Dr. Light a visit.”

* * *

Kevin watched from the back of the ship as the swirling blue-and-violet portal behind them contracted and closed. When it was gone, there was no trace of it to prove it had ever been there to begin with. He guessed that unless somebody knew it was there, or had managed to track it down, it would be next to impossible to stumble upon by accident.

It made him wonder for a moment how Miki was doing in her travel. Were there warp zones on the ground, too? There must have been, right? But how far could she really go just on foot?

She had skills, obviously, but that didn’t stop Kevin from suddenly worrying about her safety. Selfish jerk or not, he didn’t want to abide by someone getting themselves lost and hurt because they were too proud to stay with the group. Maybe they’d see her at some point…

Mega Man was given access to Samus’ communication systems, which he was using to give Dr. Light a bit of warning before they all showed up at his doorstep. He couldn’t hear the conversation exactly, but the little Robot Master seemed pretty happy. Samus wasn’t saying anything— and in the meantime, Simon had abandoned the front of the ship and was now coming his way.

“It’s all still quite bizarre, isn’t it?” Simon asked. Kevin guessed that Simon hadn’t had a good experience on this ship before, because he was staying to one wall with one hand holding onto something at any given time.

Taken out of his thoughts, he gave Simon a smile. “Yeah, kinda. I mean, this adventure kind of came out of nowhere and it’s a lot to take on at once, isn’t it? Saving multiple worlds.”

Simon looked a bit embarrassed. “I meant the… _spacecraft_ , to be perfectly honest.” The word interacted weirdly with his accent.

“Oh.” Kevin told himself not to chuckle, he didn’t want to make Simon feel any more awkward than he was. “I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve never been on one before, either, but it’s kind of like a normal sea ship; except it can travel through space.”

“Space. Beyond the clouds.” It occurred to Kevin that even _that_ concept was exactly what was strange about it to Simon. “And we’re visiting a man that creates artificial life. Is this really ordinary in the future?”

Kevin made another guess: that the only thing going through Simon’s head right now was the image of The Creature, a patchwork of dead people, made with the crude science that barely existed in Simon’s time. Mega Man, obviously, was nothing like that, but would that alone ease the uncertainties of a man who only knew that kind of science as a villain’s playground?

“Well…” How did he talk about this? “It’s a different time, Simon. It’s not as weird or creepy when humans have got it down. And, uh, aren’t digging up graveyards to make it happen. You won’t see, like, brains in jars or anything like that at Dr. Light’s lab. Just metal parts and stuff.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s not like… well.” Kevin scratched the back of his head. “You can fill that in on your own.”

Simon looked at him with a furrowed brow. “How _is_ it that you know about the Creature? That was a secret experiment conducted by a man who never wanted his creation to see the light of day. Only Lord Dracula and his cultists know of it…”

“Cultists?” Kevin asked.

Simon searched Kevin’s face, and he felt a chill run down his spine. Was Simon thinking he was suspicious? But he answered Kevin’s question: “Ever since the days of Christopher Belmont, Dracula has had both his demonic hordes and the support of ill-intentioned humans at his beck and call. They’re privy to secrets the regular populace can’t even imagine.”

“Oh. Well… there’s a book about it in my time,” Kevin said, hesitantly. “About the Creature. I guess it didn’t stay secret for long.”

“…I see.” Simon sighed. “It’s a troubling thing. I don’t mean from my perspective— to be blunt, I worry for Mega Man.”

Kevin found himself shocked at that. “Huh? Why?”

“He seems troubled to me,” Simon explained, “When I look at him sometimes. But I’ll take your word that his creation is a matter of era and progression and not… well, _ethics_.”

* * *

They arrived at their destination some minutes later. Light Labs wasn’t much of a laboratory, at least not how Kevin always imagined one to look like. It looked more like a simple house, maybe only a little bigger than the one he lived in. Its white walls and quaint yard gave it a sense of humility that Kevin imagined explained a lot about Mega Man’s personality, if this was really the home of the foremost authority on advanced robotics in the entire world. Certainly, it wasn’t the giant skull-adorned, logo-splattered supervillain lair of a castle that Wily preferred for his living space (just going by the final level of the game).

As they were landing, Kevin got a look out the window. He saw what must have been Dr. Light—he certainly had the lab coat and big, bushy beard down pat—alongside the little girl robot gaping at the spaceship. Mega Man had called ahead when they entered the warp zone, but he guessed that his family wasn’t expecting _this_.

Mega Man simply waved excitedly out the window.

“She looks quite human,” Simon noted.

“My sister?” Mega Man grinned up at Simon.

“Yes. She’s like you, isn’t she?”

“Mmhmm! A Robot Master, just like me. She’s kind and she’s hard-working and I love her! She wants to be a nurse someday, and I think she’d be pretty good at it!”

The way he talked about her was sugar-sweet, Kevin couldn’t help but smile. He saw one appear across Simon’s face as well.

They didn’t have to wait long to meet the family once they landed, either. Mega Man jogged first out of the spaceship and ran up to his father and sister, beaming, saying, “I’m home! How are you guys? How’re the others?”

Kevin followed behind Samus onto the grassy fields, with Simon coming after. Mega Man released his sister from a hug and looked between his friends and his family.

“Guys, this is my creator, Dr. Light,” Mega Man said, pointing a thumb at the man. He then gestured to the girl: “And this is my twin sister, Roll!”

Wait. _Dr. Light named his kids_ Rock _and_ Roll _? Seriously?_

Dr. Light offered a hand to Samus first. “It’s good to meet you,” he said. “You can call me Thomas.”

Samus accepted his hand, shaking it firmly. “Good to know, Thomas. This is Simon—” she pointed a thumb at Simon behind her— “And next to him is Kevin. Little boy blue gave you the basics of what this visit was about; do you mind if I give you the longer version?”

Dr. Light nodded. “Come in, please. I’d like to help however I can.”

* * *

Light Labs was a quaint little house. It was nothing fancy on the outside, but it definitely looked more like a lab on the inside; there was a living room area, sure, but it was tucked into a corner of what looked much more like what Kevin imagined a robotics engineer’s office to look like. There was a massive computer screen on one side with keyboard and peripherals; a TV on the perpendicular wall, and Roll had headed off into the kitchen to grab drinks.

“If you think it’s the most likely that Dr. Wily has based himself and his new allies here,” Dr. Light said, “I’m afraid searching for him isn’t just a quick scan away. It may take me days.”

“Understandable. I’m not unfamiliar with what it takes to track down a criminal,” Samus said. Dr. Light didn’t wince at the description, but it was a near thing. “That said, whatever software you have to get it done— I’d like a copy of that.”

Kevin hadn’t realized that was an option; Simon looked totally lost. Samus continued: “If I can get that on both the Palace’s Mainframe _and_ the systems on my own ship, then even if Dr. Wily is somewhere else entirely, we’ll still have a good chance of finding him in _only_ days, and not, say, _months_.”

Dr. Light smiled. “You’re a clever woman, Ms. Aran. Alright— I can certainly do that for you.”

Roll stepped into the room, balancing a tray of drinks in her hands. She’d brought cookies along with— Kevin could smell the warm chocolate chips before they even came into view. She had a bright smile on her face, and Kevin was about to compare it to Mega Man’s when he realized he hadn’t really _seen_ the boy smile all that often between the fights.

It harkened back to what Simon had said on the flight over: _he seems troubled_. If he looked at Mega Man now, he matched Roll’s cheerfulness just from being in the same room as her, and he hadn’t looked over while Samus and Dr. Light had been talking.

“It sounds like that nasty old Wily won’t even get the _chance_ to do whatever awful things he has in mind,” Roll chirped as she set down the tray at the table. “And I’m glad my brother’s getting some help now, goodness knows he gets careless sometimes!”

Mega Man gave a sheepish grin. “Aw, come on, sis.”

“ _Who_ helps do all your repairs when you come back all beat up from a fight?” she reminded him. He had no retort for that.

Roll distributed drinks, remembering what each of them had asked for. Kevin noticed she’d brought one for herself as well— an E-tank, set right next to Mega Man’s, as if they needed the reminder that these were robots and not normal little kids.

“Anyway, I hope you guys don’t get hurt fighting Wily and the other bad guys, either,” Roll continued as she took her seat next to her brother. “I know that stuff isn’t really easy to do. You guys look tough, but—” Kevin noticed that her hesitation was followed by her looking at _him_ , and he told himself not to feel too insulted. “Even the strongest guys have their weaknesses, right? Like Guts Man.”

“Just a handful of Hyper Bombs and he’s down for the count,” Kevin said, without thinking. He immediately cursed himself for throwing that out there, as though it were _supposed_ to be common knowledge.

Luckily for him, Roll didn’t seem to question it. Did she believe it? “Exactly! And even my brother, much as he doesn’t like to say so.”

Mega Man pouted at his sister. “I know so! But it’s not something you admit if the bad guys might be—"

“ _Breaking news_!” boomed the TV all of a sudden. It was joined by an alarm ringing from Dr. Light’s computer.

Kevin was startled out of his thoughts. It very quickly got the attention of everyone else as well, especially as the reporter talked over footage of some very familiar silhouettes atop a city building roof.

“Downtown Monstropolis is under attack,” the reporter was saying. “Yet again, by Dr. Wily’s Robot Masters!”


	2. Chapter 2

*

As the reporter talked over the footage of three Robot Masters causing ruckus in the city, Kevin strained his eyes to get a better look at which ones they were. He caught the flash of a yellow box engulfed in fire, a handful of visible swirling winds, leaves that looked too big and heavy to be native to the area. Mega Man had caught on much faster and activated his armour.

Samus quickly chugged the coffee Roll had brought her, set the empty mug down and did the same. “Drawing us out, is he?” she asked, already up and ready to head out the door. “Question. How many of these boys does Wily have?”

“Eight.” Dr. Light headed over to his computer and pulled up their profiles— Kevin guessed that he’d gotten a hold of that information after Mega Man had busted them the first time. The designation numbers [DWN-009] through to [DWN-017] appeared onscreen with familiar headshots of the eight, with weapon names and a handful of other information Kevin scanned as fast as he could.

“Then I expect to see five drop by here to, I don’t know, kidnap you or something. I wouldn’t put it past a mad scientist type.” Samus turned to face Dr. Light directly. “Thomas, you have other Robot Masters besides Rock and Roll, right?”

Dr. Light nodded. “Er, yes. I can call them, why?”

“I’m leaving Simon with you, he should be enough to keep an eye until they get here.” Samus glanced back at Simon, and Simon gave her a reserved nod. “I know he looks a little… how should I put it? _Old-fashioned_? But I’ve seen him handle some of Wily’s scraps before.”

“I believe you,” Roll said. She lifted up one of Simon’s arms and chirped, “He sure _looks_ pretty strong!”

Simon smiled a little. “I won’t let you down.”

“Mega Man, Kevin, with me.” Samus gestured with her head out the door. “Doc, call me if you need us to come running back. Not that I plan to take more than five minutes with the distraction.”

* * *

It took just about no time at all for Samus’ ship to get to downtown Monstropolis. From their vantage point high above the buildings, it was easy to spot where Heat Man, Wood Man and Air Man were by the infernos and visibly fierce winds they left behind. Kevin called back to what he knew about each of them— Heat Man was an easier boss fight, but his stage was _awful_ to get through. His pattern was easy, even before getting the Bubble Lead. Wood Man was a slightly tougher battle, easier stage. He took clever timing and aiming. Finally, Air Man was probably the hardest of the three— tricky to dodge, and the opening to hit him was tight.

That said, they all looked much more difficult to fight in person. Heat Man was a living blaze, his tiny silhouette just barely visible in the depths of his raging fires. Air Man seemed to work from his own personal cyclone around his hips, allowing him to fly the same way Heat Man could with the fire jets coming out of his boots. Wood Man was given a personal cyclone as well, trailing behind him. Would it be a good idea to get Samus to just shoot at them from her ship?

No. Too much risk for collateral damage, here in a big city. They’d have to find a way to get those guys in one place and fight them there.

“Mega Man, Kevin— save me description of what these three are capable of, fill me in on how we get them to sit still,” Samus said, evidently on the same page in that regard.

“Heat Man’s main thrusters are at the bottom of his boots,” Mega Man said. “And Air Man’s main fans in the center of his chest are how he’s making those cyclones. The only problem is that I don’t know what we can throw at them from this distance that won’t cause more damage…”

Kevin remembered something else about the DWN line, though. They were all based off of the original six Robot Masters built by Dr. Light, because Dr. Wily used those blueprints to branch off and make his own combat models. Wood Man and Air Man weren’t easy to work out in terms of inspiration, but Heat Man…

“Are you sure?” Kevin asked. “Mega Man, do you think the Ice Slasher is safe enough to use?”

Mega Man lit up, and immediately switched to it.

“Just get me a bit lower, Ms. Aran!” he exclaimed.

She smirked and obliged, throwing out one last comment as she tilted her ship towards the ground. “Just make sure you don’t need too many repairs for that sister of yours!”

Mega Man blew a raspberry at her and prepared his buster.

In the moments of Samus straightening the ship again, and Mega Man kneeling down to aim, Kevin searched again for that _troubled_ descriptor Simon had seen in the Robot Master. He seemed perfectly focused, just like any other hero would be, but was there something he just wasn’t catching? Or maybe this wasn’t the right time to be thinking about it.

Mega Man fired.

The Ice Slasher struck one of Heat Man’s boots, freezing it over, forcing him to fly on one foot and falter heavily in the air. Kevin could hear the surprised yelp from the ship. That said, not a second later, all three Robot Masters were glaring up at the ship.

Kevin swallowed and grabbed for his Zapper. He reminded himself that any Robot Master could be beaten with just the Mega Buster, not that it was easy to do. _Besides, you’ve already beaten a boss before, and that wasn’t so bad… This won’t be any different, right?_

Samus hit the autopilot on her ship and stood up so fast her pilot’s chair was left spinning. A second later, Air Man made himself the first man in the ring.

He was _big_ , up close. Like, bigger-than-a-heavyweight-champion big. And Kevin had about half a moment to appreciate that before the first torrent of fierce winds came and nearly knocked him into the open sky.

It was only Mega Man’s quick grip and sturdy footing that kept him onboard. Kevin shielded himself with his free arm, his mind racing— did he have anything to combat this? The D-Pad on his Power Pad would just get him thrown out the ship. What if he paused? Would that help? But he couldn’t move his arm, not without fear of what that wind, lashing fiercely, might do to him.

“You were a fool to take this fight to the skies,” Air Man gloated. Kevin could hardly see him through the wind whirling around him, and with the ship moving like it was twisting on a roller coaster. “The air is my domain! You only barely beat me the last time, Mega Man, and your allies will be of no help to you!”

Samus, one second standing at the controls, the next body slamming Air Man out the ship. The ship-self-stabilized without Air Man’s power sending it thrashing, and Mega Man let go of Kevin to look over the edge. Kevin followed him, his brain completely failing to register the danger Samus had put herself in.

Except a solid, glowing whip end latched onto the side of the ship and propelled Samus back by her arm cannon. Looking down, Air Man was struggling to right himself back in the air.

“Now, what was he saying? Something about us being no help,” Samus commented to Mega Man.

“Air Man’s a lot of hot air,” Mega Man uttered numbly. Samus cracked a smirk.

Heat Man had by now melted the Ice Slasher off of his boot and was coming up for revenge. Mega Man raised his buster and fired, two, three times— it froze Heat Man’s shoulder, chest, even part of his face, only for the Robot Master to ignite himself into a living flame and reduce the ice to steam in a second.

Kevin knew from the game that Heat Man was invulnerable like this. He fired anyway, with no better idea as to what to do.

Predictably, it did nothing, and he barely saw Mega Man change to the Fire Storm as Heat Man flew at them and grappled with the hero.

What was it Pit had assured him? That in a real fight he’d probably surprise himself. If by ‘surprise’, Pit meant in the sense of _wow, I didn’t think I’d be_ this _bad at it!_ , then he was totally right.

Samus saw another avenue. “Mega Man, keep that kid still!”

“Roger!” Mega Man replied. Heat Man protested at being called a kid.

Samus once again left the ship, this time flipping herself onto the roof of it. Kevin didn’t see her until she was walking on the wings, and Air Man was flying back into the fray towards her.

Kevin saw his opening on Air Man’s chest.

He bolted out from behind Mega Man’s back, hoping Heat Man’s attention wouldn’t be drawn to him— he caught a grip on the side just next to the open side of the ship, did his best to clear his head, and aimed.

The fan on Air Man’s chest had to be his weak point. One, it was big and obvious— two, it was where the violent wind, his Air Shooter, was coming from. He had his arm cannon as well, but he hadn’t used it the whole fight. Kevin shot at it.

And missed. He managed to hit _around_ it, taking Air Man’s attention off of Samus just long enough for her to throw her lasso at something else.

Kevin had totally forgotten about Wood Man until Samus threw him, from the end of her whip, into Air Man’s back and knocked them both into the ship. Mega Man leapt out of the way just in time for the two Robot Masters to smack into their third brother and land in a pile inside the ship.

“You two are heavy,” Heat Man complained from the bottom of the pile.

“Pay more attention, both of you!” Air Man demanded. “This should not be going so poorly!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have left me behind?” Wood Man groaned.

Samus leapt back into the ship, swapping out her whip for her cannon. Mega Man followed her lead, aiming at the pile of Robot Masters— Kevin belatedly did the same, trying very hard to look even remotely half as threatening as his allies.

“Tell you what, boys,” Samus said. “Make things easy for us and tell us where your bosses have set up shop, and I’ll _not_ blow you up on the spot.”

“In your own ship?” Air Man asked, daring. “You’ll kill yourself and your friends!”

Samus smirked beneath her visor. “My ship has survived far worse. A bunch of scrap metal toys like you won’t even leave a dent.”

Mega Man shifted uncomfortably, and Kevin noticed it out of the corner of his eye.

Air Man lingered a bit longer. He had no mouth, and his eyes were still as stone— whatever he was thinking, it was kept locked up tight. Wood Man and Heat Man seemed a bit more worried, at least until their brother spoke again.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to catch us twice,” Air Man said.

His chest fan ran on full blast, knocking the three of them off their feet. Kevin’s back hit the side of the control panel and he barely managed to grab the bottom of the pilot’s chair to keep from sliding out. Mega Man struck the other side of the ship, and Samus barely grabbed onto the edge of the open side before she was thrown into the air again.

“Farewell!” Air Man boasted before leaping from the ship along with Heat Man and Wood Man, restoring the cyclones around himself and the latter while the former kicked his heel thrusters back on. The three flew fast, and Samus hauled herself back up and returned straight into the pilot’s chair.

Samus didn’t hesitate to swing her ship around to follow them. She hissed through her gritted teeth: “Hold on tight, kids, because I’m _not_ letting them get away!”

Kevin wisely managed to grapple on to whatever he could find, and Mega Man likewise, as the world went from a rush to an incomprehensible blur outside the window and the side of the ship closed back up. It didn’t take them long to catch back up to the fleeing Robot Masters, but it took even less time to realize where they _weren’t_ going.

* * *

Simon felt rather awkward, in this strange and small home packed full of little objects and devices for which he couldn’t imagine the use. Up to this point, he hoped to think of himself as a man capable of adapting to any situation, aspiring to be as well at it as his forefathers— in particular, the name of Trevor Belmont sprung to mind— but the eye-straining, light-emitting glass and foreign control structures were doing a good job of throwing him off.

The fact that there was an incoming army of robotic soldiers proved a bit of trouble for his mind as well. The ones on the (what was it called? Roll had taught him the word a few seconds ago…) _TV_ seemed to have strange elemental powers of some sort. Were they specific to each one? Or could all of them perform the same feats of scientific magic? He’d seen Mega Man shoot ice instead of light, he had to assume so.

No matter— it was something he was going to have to get used to. He would not let himself lag behind for his own ignorance.

Still, while he was here waiting for the unknown, there was a comfort in the young robot girl engaging him in conversation. She was entirely pleasant, friendly and curious, with large (very blue) eyes, much like her brother’s.

Mega Man had said she wanted to be a nurse, and right now they were discussing how that would be possible. The age of a Robot Master, it seemed, made no difference on the sort of work they could take. After all, they were stronger and more difficult to injure than a human being, and it meant even those built to be very young were capable of taking work which tended to kill the humans who did it for a living. Example: lumber, which Roll cited a certain _Cut Man_ as having for a job.

That concerned Simon.

Was it his place to judge? Hopefully not. As Kevin had told him, it wasn’t so much a difference of morality so much as a difference in technology between his world and this one. Even so…

Their conversation was cut short when they heard a _thunk_ outside.

“Sounds like they’re here,” Roll said. She seemed to be trying to sound casual, but there was a note of fear that Simon took notice of immediately. He rose from his seat and settled his hands on her shoulders, as Dr. Light re-entered the room from the next one over.

“Both of you, I suggest you hide,” Simon said. “I do not want either of you to get caught in the crossfire.”

Dr. Light gave him a grateful nod, allowing Roll to cling to his side. The man himself seemed entirely calm, if sharing that same troubled look as Mega Man— for all that he had built rather than raised these children, it seemed there was something still very much fatherly about the way he resembled his creations.

“Be careful out there, Simon,” Dr. Light said. “And thank you.”

Simon hadn’t done anything yet, and admittedly… he wasn’t used to being thanked. Regardless, he returned the acknowledgement, grabbed his whip and left the house.

He was immediately greeted with a sawed-edge blade whizzing past his ear.

Before him stood only three of the expected five soldiers. The one with the blades was adorned in red armour, illuminated eyes glowing out of a face shrouded in shadow. His brothers flanking him were armoured orange, one with enormous pointed spears in the place of hands, and the other in teal, severely reminding Simon of a merman.

“You are not welcome here,” Simon said. “Begone!”

“You have no authority over us, human,” the red Robot Master spat. “We are here to assure that Dr. Light does not get in our way. If you value your life, you’ll step aside.”

“Even for a human, he’s ridiculous! Look at him!” exclaimed the orange one. “He dresses like a barbarian and he has the face of a caveman! I could punch him once, and he’d be out like a light!”

Simon gave them a smirk. “You would be fool to underestimate me.”

He started with the one that had struck first. The Robot Master dodged the crack of his whip and produced several more of those blades, each one held between his fingers. Simon took the cross from his belt and threw it— it spun towards the Robot Master’s chest. Once the cross returned to Simon’s hand, the other two Robot Masters stepped forward.

Simon’s whip grabbed the orange Robot Master’s arms. The large spear on its end began to spin, only to catch the whip more tightly around itself— Simon hauled the automaton off his feet with all his might and launched him full-body into the teal one, knocking that one flat on his back with a yelp.

A flurry of blades shot past him, some catching on Simon’s armour— one cut a lock from his hair. Simon struck again with his whip, only to have its end caught— the automaton pulled against Simon’s grip, but did not expect that Simon’s grip was equally strong.

Simon readied his cross. More blades appeared in the automaton’s hand.

A small, pointed projectile with an orange ball at its end struck the earth next to Simon’s foot.

And Simon only barely noticed it, didn’t care to note it beyond _the enemy missed_ , before it promptly exploded and threw him several feet from the earth and left him rolling when he struck ground again.

“Woo! Did you see that?! Like a ragdoll!” cheered the orange Robot Master.

His teal brother was scowling as Simon, aching but still strong enough to fight, pushed himself up. “But he’s still in one piece.”

Three shadows came up to Simon, one trailed by a _fwip, fwip_ of webbed feet. Simon grit his teeth and leveled his eyes up at them, his grip strong on his whip, even though his left leg burned.

“He won’t be for much longer,” claimed the bladed one.


	3. Chapter 3

*

“Dangit!” Samus snarled behind her helmet. “ _Sit still_ , you stupid—!”

The Robot Masters had gone through a Warp Zone several miles away from the city, and not even remotely in the direction of Light Labs. It lead— well, Kevin had no idea. If he had to make a guess, he’d say that it was somewhere in Simon’s world, going off of the Halloween-esque dead trees with their sharp, low-hanging branches. He couldn’t see that tell-tale castle, though (which made sense; it had collapsed at the end of _Castlevania_ ), and then while following the cyclones left by Air Man, Kevin realized they were short of a Robot Master to be pursuing.

On the bright side, Air Man and Wood Man both had figured out that there was little they could do to Samus’ ship while it was chasing them down. But it didn’t change the fact that they were leading them through trans-dimensional hoops as they passed through another warp.

This one, into some… mountains? Now this could have really been anywhere, but Kevin’s first thought was maybe _Ice Climbers_. Not that it mattered, because Air Man and Wood Man made a sharp right turn and Samus nearly threw both him and Mega Man off their feet in pursuit.

They had one more upside, though. Samus, seeing opportunity in their new, unpopulated surroundings, activated her ship’s weapons and started to open fire on the two Robot Masters remaining.

Wood Man’s Leaf Shield was surprisingly strong, but in the cyclone he was flying in to be carried along by his brother, it didn’t last long. As a bonus, some of the leaves caught in the back of Air Man’s fan, which was exactly where they didn’t _want_ them to be. The blades jammed for a few seconds, causing their cyclones to falter, before Air Man poked them out and recovered.

“Watch it,” Air Man likely hissed to Wood Man as they continued. Moments later he grabbed Wood Man’s arm and pulled them both to the side, trying to throw off Samus’ aim. She didn’t relent.

The back end of the ship suddenly knocked upwards, outright throwing Kevin and Mega Man onto their faces. A screen popped up on the HUD, showing that Heat Man had gotten behind them somehow.

“Oh, is _that_ how you want to play?” Samus snarled. “Alright, then, kid.”

Samus lifted the ship, raising it higher, and opened up the side. “Mega Man, get out that Ice Slasher and get slashing.”

Mega Man leaned out the side, aiming his buster towards Heat Man in the back. Heat Man noticed quickly— Kevin could see from the back cams that he had a smug little smirk on his face, and flew towards the side, out of Mega Man’s range. Mega Man could only lean out so far before he fell out.

Heat Man hit the side of the ship with a blast of Atomic Fire, and nearly threw Mega Man out of the ship. Kevin, knowing to hold on tight, managed to keep his footing this time— and Samus grunted as she re-righted the ship again.

“I can’t hit him,” Mega Man called.

Samus registered this and closed up the side of the ship again.

“You know what?” Samus decided. “Better plan.”

She hit the brakes _hard_.

Kevin landed on his face and even Mega Man stumbled— which was to say nothing of the _thunk_ — “OW!” that they could hear just outside the ship, muffled by distance. On the ship HUD, Heat Man tumbled to the ground, and Samus started preparing the ship to land.

“Isn’t that a little harsh?” Mega Man asked, seeing the damage on Heat Man.

“He did us the favour of singling himself out,” Samus replied, unfazed. “I can’t say I feel bad for a bad guy regardless.”

Mega Man sighed.

Where Heat Man had landed, there was a charred circle— like the site of a meteor crash. Smaller, though, and much shallower. Samus landed her ship next to it, and Kevin and Mega Man were the first to step out.

Heat Man coughed in the center of his little crater, struggling to try to get up. Sparks flew up from one of his shoulders; the lid of his zippo seemed to have been knocked off one of its hinges. It occurred to Kevin suddenly, now that he got a close look at him, that Heat Man didn’t look much older than Mega Man.

Barely if at all, if he had to guess. His face was much rounder, like he still had baby fat on. Obviously it was nothing that Dr. Wily didn’t install in there himself, and he was clearly mature enough to take to the battlefield, but it didn’t make him seem any less like a little kid.

It made Kevin uncomfortable, but it didn’t seem to bother Samus. And that was probably a good thing, if maybe Dr. Wily did it to try and make it harder to fight his robots.

Samus slammed her foot down on the front of Heat Man’s zippo. Though it didn’t seem to hurt the Robot Master himself, it did pin him to the ground where he lay as the thrusters in his heels failed to ignite. Mega Man kept his Ice Slasher on hand, and Kevin held his Zapper with no real certainty that he’d be able to do much else besides stand there if Heat Man managed to escape.

“You and your brothers took us on quite the run-around,” Samus said. “What’s your creator’s plan, then? He won’t get to Dr. Light.”

“Dr. Light’s not the goal,” Heat Man claimed, grinning. Then he paused— “Well, okay, yeah, he’s _one of_ the goals. You got that part right. But he’s not the only thing we’re after.”

Samus narrowed her eyes. “Explain.”

Heat Man shrugged, unfazed. “Don’t know. The big lady with the snakes sent Quick and Flash off to some other mission, but she never explained to us what that was. The only ones who know are those two, Dr. Wily and Mother Brain.”

Kevin and Mega Man shared a look.

“Well, less trouble for Simon.” Samus paused. “You’re strangely cooperative, kid. Do you think that I’m just going to let you go?”

“No,” Heat Man admitted, “But you haven’t caught me, either.”

“What?”

Heat Man vanished before their eyes in a flash of light, leaving both Kevin and Samus startled. Samus spun around, planting her now-raised heel on the ground.

“Did he just—” She looked fiercely at Mega Man. “Can you _all_ do that?”

“I—” Mega Man suddenly flinched. “We can’t, usually! The teleport system for Robot Masters— at least last I checked— was limited to my world, and my world only. I guess Mother Brain and Dr. Wily made it better for his robots?”

“They’re that ahead of us…” Samus cursed and returned to her ship.

Kevin and Mega Man looked at each other for a moment before following her. As the ship booted back up and regained its altitude again, it occurred that while they had been following the Robot Masters, they hadn’t really kept track of where in the universe they actually were— and even if Kevin could make a guess, that didn’t mean he knew where it was relative to the Palace, or to Mega Man’s world.

They were lost.

“Lana should have called us well before she did,” Samus grumbled. “Our enemies have had the time to learn the warp zones better than we do.”

Lana had a map, but she hadn’t come with— and it occurred to Kevin right now that even if she _had_ come along, she probably would have been back at the house with Simon. Or even if she _hadn’t_ , would she have been able to direct Samus fast enough and well enough to avoid this scenario?

“Don’t worry, I’ll get us on track.” Samus started tapping keys and redirecting the ship. “You two just sit back while I retrace our steps as best I can.”

Kevin considered pitching in, but he imagined Samus knew what she was doing. Instead, he flopped down to sit next to Mega Man, watching as the scenery changed outside as pop-ups appeared on the ship’s HUD and guided her the way they’d come.

Much as the action was over for now, Kevin didn’t feel any less tense. Samus was unreadable within her Power Suit, her back to him and her mouth shut. Mega Man sat down next to him, legs crossed, somewhat blank-faced. Whether or not he was alone on that, he therefore had no idea.

But the silence wasn’t helping, so he took it upon himself to ask Mega Man, “Do Wily’s ‘bots show up like this often?”

“No.” Mega Man frowned. “In fact, it hasn’t been enough time since Dr. Wily’s last plot for him to have repaired them so fast. I guess we have Mother Brain to thank for that…”

“Oh.” Kevin had to think for a little while on how to respond. “I mean, at least we know how to beat them. It’s not so hard the second—” Kevin remembered the boss rush in the final level, and amended. “Er, _third_ time, is it?”

“…I mean, in a way…”

That was a very somber reply that Kevin wasn’t expecting. “What do you mean by that?”

“I wouldn’t ever call fighting _easy_.” Mega Man made circles on the floor with his finger. “I mean, obviously it’s always going to be a physical challenge, no matter what. Even if you’re good at it.”

“Can’t relate,” Samus commented from her seat.

Mega Man smiled a little. He returned to the conversation, however, as Samus was still making their way through the warps.

“Kevin, today and yesterday were your first fights, right? And they were all against monsters. And it was tough, right?”

Kevin nodded.

“Do you think it would have been harder or easier if you were fighting other humans?”

The question stuck an odd note, as Miki came to mind again.

Kevin hadn’t ever fought back physically, but he wondered now if he could have tried. She was always going to be better than him, and the earlier fight with the Robot Masters proved that he still had a long way to go before he was anywhere _near_ good enough to be actually useful to the others, but Miki didn’t have super-strong armour and she still wasn’t perfect.

But Kevin also knew that it wouldn’t have been easy. When the bullying had started, she wasn’t the martial arts extraordinaire that she was now. Little kid-him could have punched her at least once and, aside from the definite suspension he’d get for hitting her (even if she hit him first), it might’ve been at least a little satisfying.

But it wouldn’t have been right.

And even if there were a case where it were _right_ to fight back, like in the ‘saving the world’ kind of way, could he really look another human being in the face and feel the determination it took to raise a weapon or a fist? Then he realized, unlike any of the other heroes on the team so far, that was Mega Man’s _reality_.

Mega Man’s point made itself, but Kevin answered the question anyway. “Well, in terms of the fight itself… it wouldn’t matter. It would’ve been hard, emotionally. Is that what it’s like for you?”

Mega Man kicked the floor absently, staring at it. “I’m a hero because I _have_ to be, not ‘cause I like it,” he muttered.

Kevin blinked, leaning over to look at him. Now he could see what Simon was talking about, in the averted gaze and the shameful slouch in his shoulders.

Somehow, it hadn’t occurred to him that maybe one of his heroes didn’t _like_ fighting. With most superheroes, it was kind of taken for granted that they liked saving the day, right? And fighting bad guys was its own kind of fun, knowing that the result was going to be better for everyone. He certainly got that impression out of Pit, and Samus and Simon, too, to a lesser extent.

He didn’t notice it on Mega Man because, he supposed, he just hadn’t thought about it. Kevin made a mental note to bear it in mind from now on.

Samus wasn’t saying anything, but from the way her head was subtly turned towards the conversation, he guessed she was listening.

“I don’t _like_ hurting other robots, and I don’t like being praised for it,” Mega Man continued. “It’s just not fair. They didn’t _ask_ to be the bad guys, it’s Wily’s fault, not theirs. I mean— I don’t like hurting humans, either, and heck, my programming is against it unless absolutely necessary; but Wily actually deserves it. _He’s_ the one who got all jealous of my dad, _he’s_ the one that invaded and stole my brothers to make them fight for him. And his own Robot Masters are only the way they are because he built them that way.”

“Then…” Kevin worried he was going too far, and hesitated.

“But I do it because I want to help people,” Mega Man said, seeming to know the question. “Because even if I don’t like it, Wily’s bad deeds mean innocent people are getting hurt and that’s not right, either. Because if I do my best, I can bring them back to get that programming out of them— just like I was able to bring my brothers home— and the world can be peaceful again.”

The ending of _Mega Man_ said as much, Kevin realized. _Fight for everlasting peace_!

And it reflected in a smile Mega Man gave him, driven not by anything but heroic determination. “It’s that sort of reason that I want to save the Palace, too. It’s not just because Wily’s involved again, it’s because I know if the Palace’s power falls into the wrong hands, it would be catastrophic. And Mother Brain _definitely_ seems like the wrong hands.” He paused— “Well, Medusa has hands, anyway. Mother Brain… I don’t know what she has.”

Kevin agreed wholeheartedly. “Control of the warp zones, and the sheer amount of power that must go through the Palace at any given point in time— that’s something you _really_ don’t want in the hands of someone who leads a group called the _Space Pirates_. Or the Underworld. Wily… well, he probably wouldn’t be able to take it by himself.”

“Probably not. Dr. Wily is a bad man, and he builds mean Robot Masters, but he’s not exactly the _smartest_ scientist out there.”

Kevin and Mega Man shared a laugh that was maybe a little awkward, but mostly on the same page of _he really isn’t, though_. Mega Man had the first-hand experience, and Kevin— well, the games all but proved that Dr. Wily was a brute force dictator at best, and not so much into the cunning subterfuge. He was dangerous, but only so much so.

Samus interrupted. “Regardless of whether or not _he’s_ stupid, I’ve finally found that warp. And it looks like Simon’s in serious need of help down there— so get ready, kids!”

Both of them snapped to attention, Kevin standing straight up and putting both hands on his Zapper again. Mega Man nodded and reactivated his helmet, placing a steadying hand over his buster. Out the window, Simon was still standing, but there was no question that he was having trouble keeping track of three fast-moving robots at once. Well— _two_ fast-moving robots, and one significantly slower.

Because Bubble Man seemed to be having a hard time getting around. Where the other two— Crash Man and Metal Man, Kevin guessed— could move like nobody’s business, Bubble Man was content to stay in one place for a long time and only move when he had to, with a leap. That, combined with what Kevin knew of the Bubble Lead (that being that it was the lamest weapon in _Mega Man 2_ , if still perfectly useful), decided his target.

Except before he could consider jumping in, and just as Samus was about to jump out for herself (her ship landing on autopilot), Mega Man held out his arm to stop them. His other hand was touching the side of his helmet, as though he was listening to something they couldn’t hear.

“What is it?” Samus asked.

Mega Man winked at her and said, “Help’s already here.”

The way Heat Man had disappeared from just within their grasp back in one of the other worlds, six beams of light shone down, just the way Mega Man showed up at the beginning of a level in his games. Kevin knew exactly what he was talking about when Bubble Man was smacked down from mid-jump by a pair of massive orange arms.

Guts Man landed on the ground in front of the rest of the original six Robot Masters and said, his voice loud and boastful to the point that it made the hypersonic thrum of Samus’ ship sound quiet and subdued in comparison: “Sorry we’re late! Had a few jobs to wrap up. Now, who’s up for a breatin’?!”

Simon, previously pinned down but now seeing opportunity in the DWNs’ collective shock, revealed several Metal Blades he’d taken and hidden beneath his arm and tossed them with the same precision and skill that he did his throwing knives in a line across Metal Man’s torso. In the same second, Crash Man raised his arms to shoot a pair of Crash Bombs only to have them frozen in place. Elec Man took care of the rest— his Thunder Beam zapped Crash Man so bad Kevin could see the underlying metallic structure beneath his armour.

Metal Man quickly gathered himself and his brothers in either arm, growling. Even if his brothers hadn’t been totally knocked out, there was no chance that he alone could have taken on the original six _and_ Samus, Simon and Mega Man. “We’ll remember this,” he threatened before teleporting himself and his brothers away.

Fire Man and Guts Man took care to check on Simon, injured as he was. Elec Man came up to greet them, appearing rather poised compared to what Kevin was expecting.

“I’m glad you and the others made it in time, Elec,” Mega Man said first, running up to see his brother.

Elec Man placed a hand on Mega Man’s helmet and pat it, since he didn’t have access to ruffle his hair. “Here Guts Man was concerned in that regard. But yes, we’re here. Was that all?”

“Not quite,” Samus said. “But first, I need to borrow your dad’s computer.”

* * *

“I mean, we _saw_ three of them trying to break into the Palace,” Lana explained on the other side of the monitor. “I guess their plan was to leave you guys stranded and then double back to try and hit the Palace again. Except, all that ended up happening was Heat Man face-planting into the shield and knocking himself out. Then Wood Man and Air Man dragged him off to get repaired.”

Samus snorted at the mental image. “Alright, good. But that still leaves the last two Robot Masters unaccounted for. _They_ had to have been up to something.”

“Whatever it is, they probably failed that, too!” Pit called from the background, in the middle of playing fetch with Duke. “I mean, their brothers looked tough until one of them smacked his face into the shields, I think Kevin and Mega Man oversold us on how dangerous they could be.”

“I wouldn’t underestimate them, personally,” Simon mumbled as Roll took care of his wounds. He was mostly patched up already— at least, the worst of it was. There were a handful of cuts and scrapes that Roll was still cleaning, and at this point he didn’t even flinch.

“You’ll do better against them next time, Mr. Belmont,” Roll reassured him as she lifted one of his elbows to get to a cut on his side.

With that in mind, Samus didn’t looks so sure with Pit’s assumption. Kevin shared that opinion, but he also couldn’t imagine what they might have been up to if not trying again to break into the Palace. Regardless, Samus told Lana the decision she and Dr. Light had come to before Wily’s Robot Masters invaded, finished conversation and lead Dr. Light towards her ship to start installing the monitoring software.

It was a good start, Kevin assumed, as new to this as he was. But even still, he didn’t feel totally comfortable. What were they _missing_?

* * *

“Hey, Lady Medusa!”

Quick Man marched into the room, Flash Man not far behind, with a heavy bag swung over the latter’s shoulder. The Goddess turned towards the two— Mother Brain, installed at the back of the room, acknowledged the scene as well without contribution. Flash Man placed the bag in front of Medusa, daring not to get too close to her.

“We got ‘em,” Quick Man continued. “And here I was worried you two didn’t have a real plan.”

Mother Brain’s eye narrowed, but Medusa gave him a smirk. “You share your creator’s impatience, don’t you, boy.”

Quick Man didn’t respond outright to being called ‘boy’, but Flash Man quickly received a handful of angry-faced emoticons over the DWN communication network. Medusa approached the bag, peeking in and recoiling at the light that shone through the opening.

“All three of them?” she asked.

Flash Man nodded. “All three. It was as tricky as you warned us it would be, to take them without being caught.”

Medusa’s smirk blossomed into a smile.

“Store these where they’ll be the most secure,” she said. “Get Dr. Wily to build a facility with his best security, and move them there when it’s complete. Make sure it’s done before our little heroes even learn that they’re gone.”

“ _His_ best security, my Goddess?” Mother Brain asked. “Please, leave it to my Space Pirates. Bring them to my territory, and Samus Aran and her gaggle of children won’t even know where to start looking.”

The rattle of Medusa’s hair snakes came across as a pleased hum. “You’re right. Flash Man, amend my order. Inform Ridley.”

“Yes, my Lady.” He bowed, and elbowed Quick Man into doing the same. He hauled the bag back over his shoulder again and left with his brother.

Oh, yes. Medusa returned to Mother Brain’s side, taking a seat upon her base as though it were a proper throne with one leg slung over the other. Let the children scramble to gather resources: let them bolster their defenses and hunt them down with the false expectation that they could win.

They were already too late.


End file.
